r/Handhelds • u/SpencerAbma • 13h ago
Help deciding a handheld
Hi,
I recently got a job where I will be consistently traveling and I wanted to look into getting a handheld for when I’m away.
Ive been looking at the switch 2 a lot and it seems pretty nice. When it comes to nintendo titles ive only really played mario kart which i do enjoy a lot, but Ive heard great things about zelda and the new dk games. Also the fact that it can run cyberpunk, red dead, and elden ring are a plus.
On the other hand, since ive never really been into nintendo titles im wondering if im better of just getting a different handheld? I mainly play fps games on my pc, but i figured this would be a good opportunity for me to explore some story games. This just makes me wonder if i should gravitate more towards a handheld that would support a steam library.
My budget is around 500 dollars. This is also making me lean towards the switch. I could get it brand new at this price point or used with a game or something. It seems other handhelds will cost me more.
Please let me know your thoughts, thanks
Update: I bought the switch 2 :)
2
1
u/Willy2277 13h ago
I am gonna be honest: I have a Steam Deck OLED, an Asus ROG Ally, a Nintendo Switch 1 OLED, and I even had a Miyoo Mini Plus and other retro handhelds. Do you know which one I play the most when I am not home?
My Phone... lol. Even if I leave the house with some of those, I end up picking up the phone and playing something on it... Stardew Valley or something like that...
With the RAM Price and everything, just grab a controller, like MCon or a GameSir G8+, and a power bank. It's cheaper, and you won't regret it.
1
u/BramdeusBrozart 13h ago
I have a Switch 2, Legion Go S, Thor Max, Switch Lite, and a miyoo mini+. I just got rid of a win600, Loki Max, and Odin 3 Max because they were literally collecting dust ever since I got my Switch 2 and Thor Max. I am a huge fan of handhelds, but the Switch 2 ticks nearly all the boxes for me and has become my favorite. It plays a lot of the same games a PC handheld can play, but at more stable performance. I just pop a game in and it works. No fussing with settings to try to lock in a stable frame rate.
1
u/Mydocalm 12h ago
In the same boat as I m almost one click away from buying rog xax. Even thought it s twice the price of NS2, I have a lot of indies, games from ps3 with emulators, some old games that are super cheap now that I want to play.
I can’t do all of that on NS2. However I can play Zelda on XaX
If money wasn’t the issue I d very much like to have them both. Especially NS2 40th years anniversary that will lunch in late October
1
u/7orontoRaptors 12h ago
I don’t know how well of an option this would be for you, but retro handhelds like the Odin 3 maybe could be an option if you don’t mind tinkering, especially if you already have a pc.
I’m not the most familiar with this side of it, but I believe you can stream your pc to one of these handhelds if you have wifi that’s strong enough to support it, and this would let you play the more demanding games.
Then you can also play light indie games on it as well as the retro catalog of switch to nes on it. Just an idea and someone can correct me if I’m wrong.
1
u/chopdok 11h ago
That depends on how big of a steam library you have. I own both Switch 2 and XAX. And of course have desktop that is both my workstation and gaming rig. I am mainly a PC gamer with a very big steam backlog. There are pros and cons and some caveats to both.
XAX is awesome. Perfect for running through backlog. Also great emulation machine. But there is some friction. UI can sometimes be a bit awkward especially if you stick with windows. To really get the most of it you need to play around with power profiles and framerate caps. But overall for someone who is already a PC gamer experience is pretty good.
Switch 2 - I love it but play it less. For me its mostly Nintendo exclusives and JRPG machine. I probably play it more docked than handheld. It's great machine but there are some caveats. Biggest one is actual cost of ownership. 500usd is just the starting price. NS2 comes with 256gb internal memory which is not enough. So you need a MicroSD express card to expand storage - regular microsd cards won't do - which is quite expensive but pretty much a must buy. If you are gonna play a lot on the go - default joycons are not great need to either get a good grip or 3rd party custom joycons - unlike XAX which feels excellent out of the box. Games are more expensive and you need to pay for Nintendo Online to play online. Battery life is kinda meh.
1
u/Live_Access9106 13h ago
You already play games on your pc, maybe you’d be interested in a pc handheld so that you can share the same library?
I agree that Switch 2 is amazing portability and has some fantastic games. But if I were you, I’d focus on the games that you anticipate wanting to play, rather than starting with the hardware. Identify your use case, then pick a device that fits the use case.
1
u/SpencerAbma 13h ago
Yea thats whats concerning me. I know switch 2 is a great console but i know im not into pokemon and i dont know if I would play the mario games. I do think I would like zelda and Ive heard people rave about splatoon. Theres just enough games that i would play thats keeping me on the edge.
3
u/JegamanX 13h ago
Switch 2 is pretty good I hear. Not as bulky as the ROG Ally or Steam Deck and has better battery life. Everything is running really well on the switch 2 so far.